Cohen & Steers, Inc. (NYSE:CNS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Cohen & Steers, Inc. (NYSE:CNS) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,510,000 shares, a decrease of 10.7% from the March 15th total of 1,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 164,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.2 days. Approximately 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Cohen & Steers Trading Down 1.4 %

CNS stock opened at $67.51 on Wednesday. Cohen & Steers has a 12-month low of $50.05 and a 12-month high of $78.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $72.58 and its 200 day moving average is $66.46. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97 and a beta of 1.45.

Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The asset manager reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.03. Cohen & Steers had a return on equity of 38.52% and a net margin of 26.36%. The company had revenue of $119.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $122.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. Cohen & Steers’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Cohen & Steers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This is a positive change from Cohen & Steers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Cohen & Steers’s payout ratio is 90.77%.

Insider Transactions at Cohen & Steers

In other Cohen & Steers news, Director Richard P. Simon sold 6,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.76, for a total value of $498,157.92. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,792,062.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Edmond D. Villani sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.99, for a total transaction of $291,960.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,675.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard P. Simon sold 6,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.76, for a total value of $498,157.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,792,062.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,000 shares of company stock worth $1,009,713 over the last quarter. 47.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cohen & Steers

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Cohen & Steers by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 13,334 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Cohen & Steers by 104.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 418 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Cohen & Steers by 42.0% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 828 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cohen & Steers by 11.6% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Cohen & Steers by 12.1% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,107 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 51.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Cohen & Steers from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Cohen & Steers from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 26th.

Cohen & Steers Company Profile

Cohen & Steers, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, and foundations. It manages separate client-focused equity, fixed income, multi-asset, and commodity portfolios through its subsidiaries.